Abstract

MWEPU, Patrick Kabeya. Women and their struggle for emancipation in Lopes' œuvre. Tydskr. letterkd. [online]. 2008, vol.45, n.2, pp.161-172. ISSN 2309-9070.

Born in Kinshasa, Congo, on 12 September 1937, but a national of Congo (Brazzaville), Henri Lopes is one of those African writers who, were not only educated but also lived in Europe where a certain portion of their literary work was produced. Being a politician and writer, one can easily glean, through Lopes' works, a complete picture of despotic postcolonial mismanagement of political affairs coupled with a dire dearth of humanism. Literary works such as Tribaliques (Tribaliks, 1971), La nouvelle Romance (The New Romance, 1976), Sans tam-tam (Without Drum, 1 977), Le Pleurer-Rire (The Crying-Laughter, 1982) and Sur l'autre ríve (On the Other Shore, 1 992) depict a particular worldview as well as an understanding of the overarching reality of a young Africa that had just attained political independence. However, while Lopes' works decry the shortcomings of Africa's postcolonial ruling class, it is important to note that the author appears to pay equal attention to questions relating to the perception and critical analysis of the status of women in Africa. Notwithstanding his male gender status, in his rather original approach, Lopes lends women a revolutionary voice with which they address and search for solutions to their problems themselves.

Keywords : African women; mission; struggle for emancipation.

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